Driver leads police on 151mph chase as speeding soars during lockdown

The is the moment a driver led police on a 151mph chase, as officers warn that speeding offences shot up over the Easter weekend.

Nail-biting dashcam footage shows the driver reaching more than double the limit on the M1 with police tailing him for at least a minute.

He suddenly comes to a stop and decides to ditch his vehicle, which is believed to be a BMW, to escape on foot.

The video was shared by Scotland Yard’s lead officer on roads policing, Detective Sergeant Andy Cox, in a bid to warn drivers against speeding while roads are empty during lockdown.

Met Police said they caught several drivers whizzing down roads at ‘extreme speeds’, with one man hitting 97mph in a 40 zone. Another four drivers were caught going over 100mph on the A13.

DS Cox wrote on Twitter: ‘Extreme speeds this wkend in London. Many enforced including 97mph (40) on £A10.

‘This driver reached 151mph on £M1 before decamping car & evading on foot. We will do upmost to identify & take action.

‘Anyhow no doubt will come to our attention again before he hurts somebody.’

Drivers have been taking advantage of quieter roads, with four in 10 cars exceeding the speed limit in Greater Manchester, mayor Andy Burnham said last week.

The mayor said figures show an expected large decrease in the number of vehicles on the roads – but the number of speeding motorists has doubled.

Meanwhile, West Midlands police said they seized nine off-road bikes and made a string of arrests, after yobs turned empty city roads ‘into race tracks’ over the Bank Holiday weekend.

Officers said the ‘Covidiots’ were ‘running amok’ on Birmingham’s highways and the force would continue to clamp down on such behaviour throughout the lockdown.

Over three days traffic cops, including officers in a helicopter, tracked the yobs and seized nine bikes and arrested four men, including a teenager.

Four of the confiscated bikes, which included quad bikes and scramblers, were found to be stolen.

Police said they ‘come down hard on Covidiots were tried turning deserted streets into race tracks’.

Sergeant Mitch Darby, from the force Traffic Unit, said: ‘The majority of people are behaving responsibly and staying at home to help prevent the spread of coronavirus.

‘But there are some who seemed to think the unusually quiet roads was an opportunity to ride dangerously and anti-socially.

‘We’d planned for the prospect and had significant numbers of police bikers out over the long weekend, while the police helicopter was hovering above to offer support…

‘And our message is clear to any off-road bikers caught riding irresponsibly: you face being arrested, we’ll seize your bike and apply to the courts to confiscate and crush it.’

Two other police forces said they had seen an increase in speeding and warned motorists not to drive irresponsibly during the travel restrictions.

North Wales Police also caught a driver travelling at 113mph on the A55 at Northop and another at 101mph on the A5 near Corwen, while North Yorkshire Police said a BMW was clocked travelling at 132mph on the A168 at Asenby, near Thirsk.